Friday, February 01, 2008

Govindan Kutty denied bail.

The Kerala High Court today dismissed the bail plea of P Govindan Kutty, editor of Peoples March, who was taken into custody alleging a relationship with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). He was also charged under Session 20 of Illegal Activities Prohibition Act.

Peoples March is an independent and legally registered magazine which carries news of the activities of the CPI (Maoist) and of its Peoples Liberation Guerilla Army which is active amongst the dalits and tribals, and which has successfully fought off police and army attempts to take land for Slavery and Exploitation Zones (SEZs - some call them "special economic zones").

P. Govindan Kutty (left) has been in custody for more than a month without being given bail. He has been conducting a hunger strike and there are reports of forcible feeding.

According to K A Shaji's report in Tehelka, while opposing his bail application in the Kerala High Court, the police said Govindan Kutty was providing ideological backing to Maoists of different streams for the last fiveyears and his release would help Naxalism grow in Kerala. Please see http://www.tehelka.com/story_main37.asp?filename=Ne020208code_red.asp

Govindan Kutty's arrest is politically motivated and a wanton attack on freedom of speech and expression. The Naxalite movement is never mentioned in the western media, but it is alive and well in ten Indian states, and Peoples March enables those of us interested in the plight of India's poverty-stricken masses, to follow its course.